. >> reporter: steve madell is the managing partner of one of the largest family law firms in l.a. he wasn't involved in kelly's case, but has handled his share of controversial custody cases, and says in this one, the judge's hands were tied. >> dad is not allowed to reside in the united states. as a result, somehow or another, the children have to be transported. so somebody is going to have to bear that transportation burden. >> i bet there are people out there who rush to judgment, kelly rutherford must be a bad mother. how could a judge take children away from the mom, what did she do wrong? >> yeah, of course. >> reporter: infuriating? >> no, it's not infuriating, it's not hard. because i'm asking myself the same question. >> reporter: the judge's decision is only temporary. stipulating that daniel must do everything he can to restore his u.s. visa, so that eventually the children can return to new york. but kelly is angry the kids were sent to france at all. especially with the lingering question of why her ex-husband's visa was revoked in the first place. >> i'm sorry, you